North Korea drops foreigner-only 3G service, is not promised land of free and open data

A few weeks ago, the North Korean government announced plans to roll out uncensored 3G access to foreigners visiting the country, which was surprising because the only thing rarer in North Korea than a foreigner is a piece of uncensored information. Now, in a sudden but not that surprising change of heart, the capricious DPRK regime has now decided against 3G for tourists, which will presumably be really disappointing for those who thought their trip to North Korea would be rife with YouTube views and Skype calls.North Korea Tech reports:

The ability of visitors to send pictures and video in realtime from inside the country, and the subsequent international interest in each Instagram, Tweet or video, [was likely] partly behind the decision.Control of information is one of the most important things in North Korea and perhaps the freedom it gave tourists spooked officials a little? It’s one thing demanding people delete photos if they captured something they shouldn’t have, but if the picture’s already been uploaded to the Internet then it’s too late.

This political speculation is all good and well, but we all know the real reason: Kim Jong-Un is simply playing hardball to defend his Angry Birds high-scores. This decision also, hopefully, spares the world from the dictator’s pudgy Instagram-selfies.